


Old Fables

by thenewnationalanthem (moxielovesshipping)



Series: Sad, Sweet, and Sexy [25]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Children, Angst, Books, Bookstores, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Loss, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Indigo loves her dad you guys, Loss, M/M, Memories, Off-screen Relationship(s), Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Single Parents, Supportive Children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 15:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12015984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxielovesshipping/pseuds/thenewnationalanthem
Summary: Mark's daughter brings up the past...but he doesn't mind at all.





	Old Fables

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Smeared Pages and Ripped Notes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10734126) by [thenewnationalanthem (moxielovesshipping)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moxielovesshipping/pseuds/thenewnationalanthem). 



> S A D B O I but its so sweet omf Indigo is so supportive <3

"Hey, dad?" She asks, gripping an object tightly in her hands as she approaches her father, hunched over a stack of boxes and tubs.

 

"Yes, Indigo?"

 

"I found this...in between some boxes? I figured it was important." He shifts around towards her with a smile, but it quickly drops when he sees what she's holding.

 

A book, well kept but worn around the edges, pages slightly ajar but, nothing too detrimental. He pries it from her hands and holds it like a child, like something so precious she had no idea why he would hide it from himself.

 

"You're right. It is."

 

"Is that...from Seàn?" She whispers, because she knows it's a rough subject. She never got to meet him, but by the way her father talks about him, she'd been unlucky she hadn't.

 

He nodded quietly, and she could tell he was trying not to cry, he always tried not to cry. But she wasn't having it. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered things in his ear. " _It's okay...I love you...it's okay to cry...please cry..._ "

 

He just held them both tight, her and the book, but he never shed a tear. Sometimes she wondered, on that fateful night, if her father finally ran out of them.

 

"I miss him, everyday still." He says quietly, running his thumb over the brown ends. "Every night, every morning, I could never forget him."

 

"How could you," She offers up, and she can see the pain in his soft eyes. "You loved him."

 

And he laughs. Out of true humor or undying sadness, he laughs. "Yeah. I did. I do."

 

"How much?"

 

He tilts his head, eyes full to the brim with tears and the book still in his head. "How much, what?"

 

"How much did you love him?"

 

"I would have gone to space and perfectly aligned every star so they spelled his name. I would have...kissed every scar on his body until they healed. I would have done any task, overcome any obstacle, just to have him smile at me, once even."

 

"Would you, still?"

 

"Yeah. I would." He whispers, looking down at the plastic cover. It was unlikely he was thinking clearly right now, but Indigo was determined to get her dad to talk. Years she'd heard him in his room, sometimes in his sleep, crying and yelling out for him. There was nothing she could do but wait, because she had no idea how to help. He held himself together just for her, but it was time for him to fall apart. He'd held a heavy burden alone way too long, and she wanted to share it. She held onto his hand, much to his surprise, and led him onto their street.

 

"Tell me about him."

 

"We need to be packing, Indigo."

 

"I know. We will. Tell me about Seàn."

 

He relented, sighing as he followed her path, staring up at the sky in a silent conversation. "He was...god he was heaven on earth. He was an angel, perfection, and I never knew I could fall in love so fast. You know, we met at a bookstore, a few blocks from here." He breathes, and she can feel his grip on her hand get tighter. "He used to come in there everyday and just...sit. For hours on end he just sat. I would watch him from the shelves or from the coffee shop. He was so gorgeous, Indie. Then one day, I decided to talk to him..." He smiled softly, still gripping the book with his free arm. "That was the best day of my life. I could spend hours with him. Days. Months. Years. I'd never get tired of it. I wanted to..." He chokes, but she keeps on squeezing and walking. She'd never let her father fall. "I wanted to marry him. And I couldn't stand not hearing from him for...even a few minutes. It made me uneasy because I never knew what he could do in a few minutes."

 

"What happened?"

 

"I thought everything was fine. I thought...I'd found my soulmate. He gave me a gift...the last day I saw him alive. He told me to--" He cut himself off with a broken sob, but she kept on walking. "He told me not to open it until I got home. We were spending time with Chica, she loved Jack. Like I loved Jack. _Less_ than I loved Jack. When I got home, I opened it, and I called him but he...he wouldn't pick up? I was--was scared, I freaked out. I dialed him and dialed him and dialed him and he wouldn't pick up. Then I realized there was a note, in the front cover of this book."

 

He lets go of her hand to open it, easily pulling the tear stained note from the front. "It never felt right to throw it away...so I didn't. I've never felt anguish before...true, soul crushing, devastation until that day."

 

By now the tears were falling easily, so she stopped walking and hugged him again, with all her might, holding him up with her own dreams and kisses. "I'm so sorry..."

 

"It's okay. Because then, I met you. I saw how bright your eyes were and...they matched that shimmering blue Seàn's would get when we were together. You even smiled at me, beaming, and I knew you were the perfect child for me."

 

She smiled at her dad, pressing a kiss to his forehead and hugging his waist again. "I'm glad you brought me home with you. I'd never want to be anywhere else."

 

He huffs at her, brushing stray hair from her eye and combing through her hair. "And I wouldn't want you anywhere else. God, Seàn is probably gushing over you right now in heaven." He laughs, and she pushes his shoulder playfully.

 

"I'm sure he's been gushing over you up there for years."

 

Mark shrugged, throwing a protective arm around her neck and turning them back towards their home. "Yeah. Maybe so."


End file.
